Frontal brain activation in repressors and nonrepressors.

Assessed whether resting anterior asymmetry would discriminate individual differences in repressive-defensive coping styles. In 2 sessions, resting electroencephalogram was recorded from female adults during 8 60-sec baselines. Ss were classified as repressors or nonrepressors on the basis of scores on the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MC), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). In midfrontal and lateral frontal sites, repressors demonstrated relative left hemisphere activation when compared with other groups. The MC, but not the STAI or the BDI, contributed unique variance to frontal asymmetry. Relative left frontal activation may be linked to a self-enhancing regulatory style that promotes lowered risk for psychopathology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pregnancy problems, postpartum depression, and early mother–infant interactions.

24 women (mean age 24 yrs) who had received ultrasound examinations and psychological interviews during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy were subsequently divided into a group of 12 Ss who had reported pregnancy problems (marital difficulties and ambivalence about the child) and another group of 12 Ss who had not. Ss were then observed at 3–5 mo postpartum in interactions with their infants and were given the Beck Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Nowicki-Strickland Internal–External Control Scale for Adults, measures of mothers' and infants' temperament, and a maternal developmental expectations and childrearing attitudes scale. The mothers who had experienced pregnancy problems were more depressed, anxious, and externalizing postpartum and expressed more punitive childrearing attitudes. These depressed mothers and their infants showed less optimal interaction behaviors. Results suggest that postpartum depression can be predicted from a simple set of questions regarding the mother's negative feelings about her marriage and her expectant child during the prenatal period. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some preliminary data on the psychological characteristics of Vietnam veterans with posttraumatic stress disorders.

There appears to be a high incidence of posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSDs) among Vietnam combat veterans; yet, there is little information available on the utility of traditional psychological inventories for assessment of this disorder. The present study examined whether responses on a variety of standardized psychological inventories (the MMPI, Self-Rating Depression Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Fear Survey Schedule–II) would distinguish 3 carefully matched groups of Vietnam veterans: (a) 12 Ss (mean age 34 yrs) with an exclusive diagnosis of PTSD, (b) 12 Ss (mean age 35 yrs) with other nonpsychotic psychological diagnoses, and (c) 12 Ss (mean age 34 yrs) with combat experience who are currently well-adjusted. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses indicated that the assessment battery was able to discriminate with good success Vietnam combat veterans with PTSD from relevant comparison groups. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships between marital distress and child behavior problems, maternal personal adjustment, maternal personality, and maternal parenting behavior.

Examined the relationship of marital adjustment to maternal personal adjustment, maternal personality, maternal perception of child adjustment, maternal parenting behavior, and child behavior using 20 maritally distressed and 20 maritally nondistressed mothers and their children (aged 3–7 yrs). Ss were given a battery of tests that included the Beck Depression Inventory, the Trait form of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Personality Research Form—Form A. Results indicate that, compared to mothers in the maritally nondistressed group, mothers in the distressed group perceived themselves as significantly more anxious and depressed and perceived their children as having significantly more behavior problems, particularly in the area of undercontrol. There were no differences between the groups with respect to maternal personality. Maritally distressed mothers showed less appropriate parenting behavior than did nondistressed mothers and the children of maritally distressed mothers were more deviant than were children of nondistressed mothers. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

MMPI profile constellations in incest families.

Used the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) to study the personality characteristics of 4 groups of Ss from incest families: 33 natural father perpetrators (aged 21–64 yrs), 29 stepfather perpetrators (aged 21–64 yrs), 44 nonparticipating mothers (aged 25–69 yrs), and 22 daughter victims (aged 15–20 yrs). Further analyses compared each of the 4 experimental groups to control groups from nonincestuous families that were matched for sex, age, race, education, and socioeconomic status (SES). The daughter victims' mean profile was more elevated and differed significantly from the profiles of the other 3 groups on the Validity, Psychasthenia, and Schizophrenia scales. Although the natural fathers and stepfathers differed significantly, the mean profiles of each group were not pathological (T?     

Discrimination of threat cues without awareness in anxiety states.

Investigated whether differences in the way that information related to danger is processed depend on voluntary attention to threat cues or on involuntary processes that may occur in the absence of awareness. 16 Ss (mean age 30.9 yrs) complaining of generalized anxiety states and 16 nonanxious matched controls (mean age 32.6 yrs) completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the synonyms section of the Mill Hill Vocabulary Scale. Ss then shadowed neutral passages in a dichotic listening task while simultaneously being exposed to threat- or non-threat-related words in the unattended channel. Anxious Ss were slower in performing a simultaneous reaction time (RT) task when the unattended words were threatening in content, although neither group could report on or recognize the words to which they had been exposed. This finding suggests that threat cues are processed differently by anxious and nonanxious individuals and that this effect depends on a preattentive bias operating prior to awareness. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of marathon group therapy on trait and state anxiety.

Administered the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory to 84 institutionalized female narcotic drug addicts (mean age 25.6 yrs). Ss then participated in marathon-directive, marathon-nondirective, or no-therapy (control) groups. Combining all groups of Ss, State Anxiety (A-State) declined significantly from pretherapy to posttherapy, with the 2 therapy groups showing a far greater decline than the control group. Trait Anxiety (A-Trait) was unchanged from pre- to posttherapy when the scores for all groups were combined. Ss receiving nondirective therapy declined in A-Trait, directive therapy Ss increased, and control Ss showed virtually no change in A-Trait. Results support C. D. Spielberger's notion that trait anxiety reflects a dispositional tendency to respond with anxiety in ego-threat situations and suggest that personality trait measures may be more relevant outcome indicators than measures of transitory mood states in marathon therapy research. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of the Beck Depression Inventory with three non-clinical populations.

Administered the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to samples from 3 different nonclinical populations (402 introductory psychology students, 101 female [mean age 27.8 yrs] and 94 male [mean age 29.5 yrs] expectant parents, and 151 female [mean age 30.3 yrs] and 117 male [mean age 32.3 yrs] married adults). Responses to the BDI were subjected to principal components analysis. The factors extracted differed among the 3 samples, with the only factor common to all 3 groups being Negative Self-View. Analyses showed that the sex differences were largest for the expectant parents group and smallest for the adult couples group. Findings have implications for the choice of control or comparison groups in studies of depression. (French abstract) (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hemispheric changes in information processing during development.

Hemispheric processing of visually presented words and pictures was examined in 3 groups of Ss with mean ages of 8 yrs 8 mo, 12 yrs 3 mo, and 27 yrs 9 mo (154 Ss). Pictorial or symbolic stimuli were presented singly to either the right or left visual hemifield. Ss had to decide whether the 1st stimulus in a pair matched the 2nd stimulus. The major results were that (a) age groups differed in the strength of lateral differences, and (b) for all age groups, the right hemisphere was significantly faster in processing unmatched stimuli. Results suggest that lateral specialization of the left hemisphere is not complete until adolescence and that over the age range tested, the left hemisphere becomes progressively more specialized for the processing of matched data. (52 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Methodological considerations in the assessment of depression in alcoholics.

Depression in 185 male (mean age 38.8 yrs) and 65 female (mean age 37.4 yrs) alcoholics was diagnosed by the DSM-III, the MMPI D scale, and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The number of Ss diagnosed as depressed varied considerably according to the method used. The MMPI D scale classified the largest number of alcoholics as depressed (62%), followed by the BDI (54%), and the DSM-III (27%). The MMPI and the BDI were highly correlated, but both showed only a modest relationship with the DSM-III. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mother–child interactional style in abuse, neglect, and control groups: Naturalistic observations in the home.

Examined mother–child interactional patterns in an urban environment. Three groups of mothers (n?=?12/group) were included in the study: (a) Ss with a known history of child abuse, (b) Ss with a known history of child neglect, and (c) Ss with no known history of child maltreatment. Ss and their children were observed in their homes on 3 consecutive days for 90 min each day. Interactions were described via a coding system of 11 major interactional patterns; dependent variables included verbal and nonverbal behaviors as well as measures of total interaction. Results indicate that the groups differed on several variables. Dysfunctional Ss showed significantly fewer positive behaviors than did the controls on verbal and nonverbal measures. Also, the abusive Ss showed significantly higher rates of verbal and physical aggression; the neglectful mothers had the lowest overall rates of interaction. The maltreated children also exhibited fewer positive behaviors and more aggressive behaviors. Results are discussed in terms of current theories of child maltreatment and of the treatment of dysfunctional families. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuropsychological impairment, depression, and Parkinson's disease.

Examined the nature of cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease (PD) and its relation to depression in 89 nondemented (mean age 69.35 yrs) and 19 demented (mean age 79.94 yrs) PD patients and 64 control Ss (mean age 66.44 yrs). PD Ss were significantly more depressed than controls on the Beck Depression Inventory and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). There were significant, negative associations between scores on the GDS and performance on 8 neuropsychological test variables. Both PD groups were significantly impaired on 7 neuropsychologial test variables, including measures of visuomotor, memory, and executive functions. The demented PD group was more impaired than the nondemented PD and control groups on 9 neuropsychological test variables. Cognitive impairments in the nondemented PD group were relatively subtle and not apparent on the Mini-Mental State Examination. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuroticism and extraversion in Turner's Syndrome.

Administered the Maudsley Personality Inventory to 5 groups of female Ss: (a) 13 Turner Syndrome Ss (mean age 19 yrs 2 mo) with karyotype 45X, (b) 18 Turner Syndrome (TS) Ss (mean age 26 yrs 11 mo) with other types of sex chromosomal abnormalities, (c) 16 sisters of Ss (mean age 24 yrs 2 mo), (d) 9 Ss with growth retardation and primary amenorrhea (mean age 22 yrs 4 mo), and (e) 19 nurses (mean age 22 yrs 8 mo). The results are compared to English and American normative values. The total group of TS Ss obtained a low Neuroticism (N) score compared to the control groups. When the total group was divided on the basis of their karyotypes, the low N score could be referred solely to Ss with karyotype 45X, who scored significantly lower than any other group tested so far with the MPI. TS Ss with chromosomal abnormalities other than 45X scored within normal limits. No variables other than karyotype 45X were related to an extremely low N score. It is concluded that exceptional emotional stability, as reflected in a very low N score on the MPI, is concomitant with the total absence of one sex chromosome, which is probably due to a developmental abnormality of the CNS. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Forgiveness as a psychotherapeutic goal with elderly females.

A psychotherapeutic intervention with forgiveness as the goal was implemented with 24 elderly women (mean age 74.5 yrs). The client's goal was to forgive one person who had inflicted considerable psychological hurt, as judged by the client. The Ss were randomly assigned to a forgiveness condition and a control group. The forgiveness group followed a treatment model based on R. D. Enright et al (1991). Dependent variables included 2 forgiveness scales, the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventories, Beck Depression Inventory, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Following the 8-wk intervention, the experimental group showed significantly higher forgiveness profiles at posttest compared with the control group. Both groups significantly decreased from pretest to posttest on psychological depression and trait anxiety. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Beck Anxiety Inventory: A psychometric analysis.

Provides information on the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) with respect to psychometric properties, gender differences, and relation to depression. A sample of 291 psychiatric patients (mean age 36.9 yrs) completed the BAI, and a subsample of 251 completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The results from factor analyses demonstrated that the BAI has 2 factors, corresponding to cognitive and somatic symptoms. Although men and women did not differ in terms of factor structures, they did differ on mean levels of cognitive and somatic symptom scores and on total BAI scores. Finally, it was found that BAI items were distinguishable from BDI items, suggesting that the symptoms measured in the 2 scales are not entirely overlapping. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental personality factors in child abuse.

Studied whether abusing parents differ from nonabusing parents in personality variables by administering the Michigan Screening Profile of Parenting to 6 groups of mothers: (a) adjudicated abusers, (b) spouses of adjudicated abusers, (c) mothers convicted of child neglect, (d) nonabusing mothers from a college student population, (e) nonabusing mothers from a middle socioeconomic level, and (f) nonabusing mothers from a lower socioeconomic level. 107 Ss were studied, all of whom had at least one child under 5 yrs of age. Major differences occurred when comparison was made of 1 or more of the 1st 3 groups with 1 of the latter 3 groups. The groups differed significantly on 6 factor-analyzed cluster categories: (a) relationship to one's own parents, (b) tendency to becoming upset and angry, (c) tendency toward isolation and loneliness, (d) expectations of one's own children, (e) inability to separate parental and child feelings, and (f) fear of external threat and control. In all of the cases, the 1st 3 groups scored at levels of higher risk than did the latter 3 groups, whereas the abusers scored at the highest risk levels throughout. It is suggested that a therapist who helps a parent develop the ability to maintain equanimity under stress, by helping reduce deviations from the norm in characteristics related to abuse potential, is ultimately helping to reduce actual abusive behavior. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Abusive mothers: Perceptions of their own and their children's behavior.

Examined the role of parental perceptions, interpretations, and attributions in child abuse within a social-situational model. This model assumes that certain stimuli (e.g., perceptions) elicit and/or maintain abusive interactions in specific social "triggering" contexts. 12 abusive and 12 nonabusive mothers' (mean age 24.4 yrs) perceptions of their own and their children's behavior, particularly perceptions of intent, negative disposition, and childrearing abilities were studied in 3 triggering contexts: breaking an object, disobedience, and continual crying. Ss also completed the Social Readjustment Rating Scale. No group differences were found in perceptions of intent and disposition. Abusive Ss offered more positive explanations in situations in which their child broke an object and would not stop crying, and they felt significantly more doubt and anger in the disobedience and crying situations. Abusive Ss also faced significantly more stress than the nonabusive group. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The validity of the DSM-III posttraumatic stress disorder classification as applied to adolescents.

Examined the validity of the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) classification as it applies to adolescents of both sexes. 24 adolescents (mean age 13.81 yrs) who met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) criteria for Axis 1 PTSD, 24 Ss (mean age 13.67 yrs) who met DSM-III criteria for simple phobia, and 24 controls (mean age 13.28 yrs) were compared using a children's PTSD inventory, a children's manifest anxiety scale, the Children's Depression Inventory, and the Test Anxiety Inventory. Their work was also rated by their classroom teachers according to the Connors Teacher Rating Scale criteria. The PTSD group was found to evidence higher levels of self-reported anxiety, depression, and behavior problems than other groups. The simple phobia group presented higher levels of self-reported test anxiety than other groups. Findings support the DSM-III PTSD classification as it applies to adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multimodal assessment of impulsiveness in abusing, neglecting, and nonmaltreating mothers and their preschool children.

Three groups of 12 mothers who had a history of child abuse (mean age 26.67 yrs), child neglect (mean age 25.75 yrs), or no known history of child maltreatment (mean age 29.08 yrs) and their 48–70 mo old children were compared on the nature and extent of their impulsiveness in a multimodal assessment procedure. Children were also rated by their mothers on the Revised Conners Parent Rating Scale and by their teachers on the Conners Teacher Rating Scale. Results indicate that comparison mothers performed better than did abusing mothers on 2 measures of motor inhibition, a modified Matching Familiar Figures Test and the Stroop Color and Word Test. Neglectful mothers rated their children as having more conduct problems than did comparison mothers. No significant differences were found on the other child measures of impulsiveness. Implications for assessing and treating child maltreatment are discussed. (48 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)